A gold-mounted tortoiseshell and coloured gold piqué snuff box

maker's mark I[A]LC, charge and discharge marks of Antoine Leschaudel, Paris, 1747



rectangular, the gold cagework mounts chased with meandering reeding, the everted thumbpiece centred on a shell, the dark tortoiseshell panels inlaid in multi-coloured gold and silver piqué coulé, on the lid with a cockerel strutting near a reed-fringed pool, the base with an exotic bird above palms, the sides with further flowers and birds, gold lining

The piqué on lid and base are in remarkably good condition, but there are extensive losses to piqué on all four sides with additional chips near edges, and horizontal creases on front. The gold mounts are slightly worn on each corner.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The same maker's mark, suggested as that of A.J.L. Couturier, was found on the rare lacquer and gold-mounted tortoiseshell boîte à secrets, Paris, 1758, from the Rothschild and Rosebery Collection, Sotheby's, 11 February 1999, lot 183 and on a gold-mounted tortoiseshell piqué portrait box of 1769, Sotheby's, 6 March 2003, lot 26. It is evidently the mark of a garnisseur who worked closely with the marchands-merciers, vernisseurs and tablettiers. Why it appears to be unrecorded whereas the marks of other mounters such as J.F. Morand were registered, remains a mystery. There was a 20 year battle from 1729 to 1756 between the Paris Goldsmiths' Guild and these artisans over the rights to sell cagework boxes which might or might not contain illicit substances between the panels and lining.

 

The piqué panels on this box are of particular delicacy, reminiscent of the multi-coloured piqué coulé work on the celebrated rhinoceros box in the Wrightsman Collection, later mounted by Louis Roucel, Paris, 1768 and even closer to the group of scarlet lacquer boxes decorated with piqué birds, including that with a pelican in its piety, from the same collection, mounted by Jean Ducrollay, 1754, and that in the Louvre, mounted by Jean-Marie Tiron in 1761 (F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, vol. III, nos. 19 & 11; Serge Grandjean, Les tabatières du musée du Louvre, Paris, 1981, no. 193). Charles Truman has pointed out how little is known about the individuals responsible for the recognisably different types of piqué fashionable in Paris (Charles Truman, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, vol.I, Los Angeles, 1991, p.34). Only two names have been noted: a certain Devair or Devert and Compigné, tablettier du roi, perhaps the same person or family famed for impressed views of Paris.